A colony for 50 years, federated , Unified to Ethiopia , in 1991's seceded after three decades of rebellion. Since 1998 Eritrea is at War, harboring proxy warriors especially the notorious Al- Shabab. Torture ,imprisonment , thousands fleeing, no religious freedom , the only university is closed, everybody is in the army, No Parliament, No election, No functioning institution, No free press & all living journalists are in prison. Eritrea is called the North Korea of Africa.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

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Eritrea marks 25 years of independence from Ethiopia this month. It is now one of the most underdeveloped countries in the world and is run by a repressive government. The Conversation Africa’s politics and society editor, Thabo Leshilo, asked Valerie Frank* to shed light on the secretive country as it marks this milestone.

Exactly 25 years ago this month the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front marched into Asmara, sending the Ethiopian forces they had been fighting for 30 years scrambling out of the city. There was widespread elation. The underdogs had triumphed against an army that had been bankrolled for decades by American and then Russian finance.

Two years later a referendum overwhelmingly confirmed the country’s independence. And in 1994 the popular liberation front transitioned into the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice. It has ruled ever since, turning Eritrea into one of the most isolated countries in the world and dashing its population’s hopes of freedom and development.

How did it get to this point? And what dynamics are at play in this small state with a population of 5.1 million?

Major milestones since independence

Optimism about the future of Eritrea was high in the 1990s. The Liberation Front’s discipline and impressive achievements in providing services to areas under Ethiopian occupation resulted in a strong belief that Eritrea’s new government could produce similar successes. But the devastation caused by decades of fighting for liberation, compounded by conflicts with all its neighbours in the 1990s, undermined the country’s vision for progress.

The subsequent outbreak of the border conflict between Ethiopia and the now independent Eritrea in 1998 fundamentally altered the nation’s course. It wreaked further devastation in the areas affected by the fighting around the countries’ shared borders. It also entrenched Eritrea’s militarisation. Senior members of the ruling party maintain that with the border conflict as of yet still unresolved, Eritreans must remain in national and military service in case of repeat Ethiopian aggression.

This sense of constant threat has been used to legitimise the government’s restrictions on freedom of speech, association, movement and the press. With 17 journalists in jail, the country ranks among the worst in the world for press freedom.

More recently, the United Nations (UN) imposed sanctions on the country for its alleged support for Al-Shabaab and its refusal to withdraw its troops from Djibouti following an inter-state conflict. Though no recent evidence has been found to suggest Eritrea’s backing for the terrorist group, the UN appears reluctant to drop the sanctions until the Eritrean government permits UN observers to enter the country.

Social and economic development

Restrictions on movement into and around Eritrea makes understanding conditions there extremely difficult. More foreign journalists have visited in recent years, but reports of what is going on there are largely provided by state-controlled sources. Laudable successes in reducing child mortality, improving maternal health and combating infectious diseases must therefore be viewed with caution.

Accounts of people who have fled the country suggest glaring gaps in resource provision. Potable water and food are limited and rationed. Electricity is erratic and fuel regularly runs out. The country ranks 186 out of 188 on the UN Human Development Index.

A boom in the country’s mining sector has provided one potential engine for economic growth, as has increased Chinese interest in various sectors. Money is also likely flowing to the ruling party in exchange for allowing countries – ironically including both Iran and Israel – to maintain military bases within its borders.

A loosening on import regulations and foreign exchange has boosted small-scale trading after years of heavy state control. But the private sector will remain underdeveloped if the majority of Eritrea’s workforce are employed indefinitely, unproductively and against their will by the state, as appears to be currently the case.

Emigration

Young people are leaving Eritrea, at an estimated rate of 5,000 young people a month. This is driven by harsh conditions, poor pay ($10 per month) across civil and military employment, and disproportionate punishment associated with national service. This service is viewed as persecutory and as condemning individuals to a life of debilitating servitude. Conditions have been written about extensively elsewhere.

Beyond this, young people feel smothered by the lack of opportunities and options within the country. Obtaining exit visas to study elsewhere, for example, is notoriously difficult even though further education within the country is immensely under-resourced.

Speculation also abounds that the youth’s exodus constitutes a “safety valve” for the regime. The government is unable to provide opportunities within Eritrea. Allowing a certain number to leave – and send back remittances as a vital lifeline for family and friends back home – takes pressure off the government’s national service programme and reduces the likelihood of youth agitating for change within the country.

Given this rather grim picture of conditions within Eritrea, are there any silver linings?

Success stories

In the past few years, the Eritrean regime has suggested that it will reduce the duration of national service, pay conscripts more per month and draft a new constitution. A document drawn up in 1997 was never implemented. There has unfortunately been no evidence of developments on any of these fronts.

Eritrea’s modernist capital city, Asmara, is edging closer to being given UNESCO World Heritage status in recognition of its unique architectural style. This would provide money for much needed restoration work and, perhaps, put Eritrea on the tourist map.

The greatest success stories are arguably on the sporting front. Eritrean middle- and long-distance runners are gaining podium places in major international races. The nation’s cyclists have shot to global fame after two riders – Daniel Teklehaimanot and Merhawi Kudus – became the first black Africans to race in the Tour de France last year.

Merhawi Kudus (right) and Daniel Teklehaimanot of Eritrea at the 2015 Tour de France.EPA/Sebastien Nogier

What the future holds

If emigration from the country continues at the current scale, it is hard to imagine where Eritrea will stand in the coming years. Those leaving may provide vital remittances, which in 2006 were understood to constitute just under 40% of gross domestic product, but their exit will expose a gap in the country’s demographic profile.

Agitation for political change from those who have left appears to have achieved little. Some insurrection has been noted within the country. The most notable were the events of Forto 2013, when the country’s Ministry of Information was surrounded by disgruntled soldiers demanding political reform, and the Freedom Friday Movement, which has attempted to encourage citizens to undermine the government through small, subversive acts.

But the political system remains unchanged. It is unclear who or what will follow President Isaias Afewerki, who is 70 years old and unlikely ever to stand down.

The country’s development will remain under-realised unless there is change on two fronts. First, in the country’s leadership. Second, the impasse over the demarcation of the border with Ethiopia needs to be broken to end the excuse for Eritrea’s continuing militarisation. The international community must do more here to stick to the terms it brokered between the states in 2000.

For many of those celebrating 25 years since independence there is thus a heart-breaking truth being simultaneously acknowledged: that the respected fighters who so valiantly won them their freedom after decades in the trenches are so painfully and egregiously failing them – and the next generation – now.

*This article appears under a pseudonym to protect the identity of the author who meets the criteria required to write for The Conversation

CSW is being joined by Human Rights Concern Eritrea, Release Eritrea, the Evangelical Alliance, Church in Chains and the British Orthodox Church at a demonstration vigil outside the Eritrean Embassy in the Angel area of London.

Organisers say the event, being staged between 3.30pm and 4.15pm, coincides with the 14th anniversity since severe restrictions were imposed on churches in Eritrea.

A statement on the CSW website said: "Join us ...to let the world know we haven't forgotten about Eritrea."

Christian Solidarity Worldwide is a Christian organisation working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.

You can find out more about Christianity in Eritrea by watching the video below.

In the last twenty-four hours, the missing the EgyptAir Airbus A320 that disappeared from radar after leaving Greek airspace had made stops in the hotspots of Tunisia and Eritrea. Both countries have documented airport security issues.

Flightradar24 listed details of the plane’s journey on Wednesday which showed it had flown from Asmara, in Eritrea, to Cairo, then on to Tunis, in Tunisia, before heading, via Cairo, to Paris.

In an advisory last May, the State Department warned security at the Asmara International Airport in Eritrea can be “unpredictable” and that “airport security lacks technology to detect fraudulent documents.”

Last November, after the midair destruction of a Russian Metrojet over Egypt, the Daily Mail reported British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond expressed concern about security at airports in the Middle East and North Africa. Tunisia was singled out by the newspaper’s report.

Among these countries are the airports in the North African cities of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia.

All these countries contain an ISIS presence, though Tunisia – the site of two massacres this year in which 31 Britons were killed – remains the most risky.

Tunisian authorities have warned further attacks in tourist resorts are highly likely – and by unknown individuals ‘inspired by terrorist groups via social media’.

Tunisia is a known Islamic State stronghold. Last November, IS militants took responsibility for the suicide bombing of a presidential guard bus, killing at least 12 troops. As Reuters reported, more than 3,000 Tunisians are said to be fighting for the Islamic State or other jihadist groups in Iraq, Syria and Libya, with some threatening to return to Tunisia to carry out jihad domestically.

Eritrea, home to a brutal dictatorship, is also known as a chaotic region and the site from which a large number of Mideast migrants attempt to journey to Europe. Last Thursday, Ethiopia authorities said that they foiled a plot by Eritrean jihadists to stage a terror attack in the country.

In an interview with this reporter, Abu al-Ayna al-Ansari, a top jihadi operative in the Gaza Strip associated with IS ideology, claimed IS has agents working in Western airports, metro stations, and “very sensitive facilities in the world.”

Still, no information has been released yet indicating foul play regarding the crash of the EgyptAir flight, which was 175 miles from the Egyptian coast when it disappeared.

Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail told reporters at Cairo Airport that “We cannot rule anything out,” saying it was too early to tell whether terrorism or a technical malfunction was at play.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls told reporters that “no hypothesis” is being excluded as to the possible causes of the crash.

Jean-Paul Troadec, former president of the French air accident investigation bureau (BEA), was quoted saying that “a strong possibility of an explosion on board from a bomb or a suicide bomber. The idea of a technical accident when weather conditions were good, seems also possible but not that likely.”

Monday, May 9, 2016

Violence broke out as thousands of illegal immigrants from Eritrean gathered on Friday at the Tel Aviv Convention Center to celebrate 25 years since their country gained independence.

The event, which was organized by the Eritrean embassy in Israel, drew supporters of the Eritrean government, while opponents of the current regime protested outside. Witnesses say brawls between pro- and anti-government Eritreans broke out near the entrance of the Convention Center.

Yonatan Jakubowicz, a senior official at the Israeli Immigration Policy Center, said the event highlights the close ties most Eritreans maintain with their home country, and dispels claims that they are asylum seekers who fled to Israel out of concerns for their safety. Jakubowicz noted that most Eritrean citizens living in Israel even paid a 2% income tax to the Eritrean government, in return for certain services.

“It’s time to end this bluff once and for all that the illegal immigrants from Eritrea are asylum seekers. The overwhelming majority of them are migrant workers who keep close ties with their families and native country, and even participate actively by the thousands in events organized by their home country’s embassy,” said Jakubowicz.

Tens of thousands of immigrants from Eritrea have infiltrated Israel over the past decade. While some have been returned to their home country, the majority have stayed, claiming that they are refugees seeking asylum and that their lives would be at risk if they returned home.

While some on the Israeli left have called for the normalization of most of these illegal immigrants, many on the right have argued that the overwhelming majority of asylum seekers are in fact migrant workers looking to benefit from higher wages and Israel’s generous welfare system.

Thursday, May 5, 2016

OSLO (HAN) May 4. 2016. Public Diplomacy & Regional Security News BY: MARGARET NAYLOR. When the regime in Eritrea this month marks 25 years, many Norwegian-Eritreans will travel to Eritrea to celebrate. Those who leaves is taking the risk of punishment, warns immigration minister Sylvi Listhaug.

In May there is expected thousands of Eritreans from Europe who will travel to Asmara, the Eritrean capitol, NRK reported. They go to celebrate the 25th anniversary of a regime that the UN believes is one of the worst in terms of human rights.

Woldab Feshatzion, leader of Eritrean Community Association, believes part Norwegian-Eritreans will travel down to celebrate the regime.

I think that some Norwegian-Eritreans who have been granted protection in Norway, will go down. I do not wonder, he says.

Eritreans who arrived as refugees and not Norwegian citizens, are not allowed to go to their home country. It is contrary to the criteria for being granted asylum.

It is clear that once say they have fled a regime and seeking protection in Norway, then travel down to salute the same regime, then there is reason to look into this, says Listhaug NRK .

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About Me

Prof. Muse Tegegne has lectured sociology Change & Liberation in Europe, Africa and Americas. He has obtained Doctorat es Science from the University of Geneva. A PhD in Developmental Studies & ND in Natural Therapies. He wrote on the problematic of the Horn of Africa extensively. He Speaks Amharic, Tigergna, Hebrew, English, French. He has a good comprehension of Arabic, Spanish and Italian.